"In his own characteristic way, Floyd was a genius," Blanc said. "He demystified food and made it a popular craft. He was the first chef to reform TV completely. He truly was a charming and generous man. I will miss him."

Antony Worrall Thompson said Floyd helped Britons enjoy food. "All of us modern TV chefs owe a living to him," he said. "He kind of spawned us all. He turned cookery shows into entertainment.

"He made cooking approachable and fun. He made us relax about food. Until Keith came along, people were very uptight about eating out, and he helped us to chill out about it."

Jamie Oliver remembered the chef as "an inspiration". "Keith was not just one of the best, he was the best television chef," he said. "An incredible man who lived life to the full and an inspiration to me and to so many others."

Floyd's death was announced this morning by James Steen, who ghostwrote Floyd's autobiography.

Steen said the chef had suffered a heart attack while watching television at the home of his partner, Celia Martin, in Dorset last night. He had returned to the UK from France about three weeks ago to start chemotherapy for bowel cancer, Steen said.

Keith Floyd presented TV cookery programmes from around the globe in a television career that began with Floyd on Fish in 1984. His enthusiasm for his craft – coupled with his consumption of substantial amounts of wine as he cooked – made him one of the most distinctive television chefs, and he was a familiar face on the screen for nearly two decades.

His last show was Floyd's India, in 2001.

Floyd started out his career as a reporter on the Bristol Evening Post before joining the army, where he rose to the rank of second lieutenant in the Royal Tank Regiment.

After leaving the forces he worked in often menial kitchen jobs in London and France before returning to Bristol, where he opened his first restaurant in the 1960s.

Married four times and divorced four times, Floyd was as tumultuous in his life as in his presenting style. He went on to open several more restaurants but suffered financial problems throughout his life and was declared bankrupt in 1996. He was convicted of drink-driving in 2004 and banned from driving for 32 months.

Steen said Floyd had reduced his notoriously large alcohol intake before he died.

"He had curbed the drinking," Steen said. He added: "When I spoke to him he was on good form, and by that I suppose I mean sober.

"He was a very generous man, he was very kind and extremely sharp and witty. He knew how to eat well and he was able to convey that."

South Western ambulance service confirmed that medics were called to an address in Bridport at 8.43pm yesterday, to a report of a man in a life-threatening condition.

A spokesman said resuscitation advice was provided over the phone before the patient was taken by ambulance to Dorset County Hospital.